1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cross bar locking devices of roof carriers for vehicles and, more particularly, to a cross bar locking device of a roof carrier for vehicles which is constructed such that a cross bar is easily locked to and released from side rails of the roof carrier.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known to those skilled in the art, roof carriers are provided on roof panels of vehicles for loading leisure sports equipment and other cargo thereon, thus solving the problem of small interior cargo space defined in the vehicles.
Such a roof carrier includes side rails, which are provided on opposite sides of a roof panel of a vehicle and are oriented in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and cross bars, which are provided in directions that cross the side bars. The cross bars are slidable along the side rails such that the positions of the cross bars can be adjusted to correspond to the size of the load.
In detail, as shown in FIG. 1, a roof carrier 10 is provided on the upper surface of a roof panel 2 of a vehicle.
The roof carrier 10 includes side rails 20, which are provided on opposite sides of the upper surface of the roof panel 2 of the vehicle in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and cross bars 30, which are coupled at opposite ends thereof to the side bars 20 in the lateral direction of the vehicle.
Furthermore, the cross bars 30 are slidable along the side rails 20 such that the distance therebetween can be adjusted to correspond to the size of the load. The opposite ends of each cross bar 30 are locked to or released from the side rails 20 using locking devices 40.
The locking devices 40 are provided on the respective opposite ends of each cross bar 30, and each locking device 40 is individually operated and is locked to or released from the corresponding side rail 20.
However, in the conventional art, because the locking devices 40 of the roof carrier 10, which are provided on respective opposite ends of the cross bar 30 to lock or release the cross bar 30 to or from the side rails 20, are individually operated, it is very inconvenient for a user to adjust the position of the cross bar 30.
In detail, to adjust the position of the cross bar 30, the user must unlock one locking device 40 and, thereafter, go around the vehicle to the opposite position and unlock the remaining locking device 40. When it is desired to lock the cross bar 30 to the side rails 20, the user must also conduct the locking operation from both sides of the vehicle.